This chart shows prescribing spend per person in the UK for the years 2006 to 2013 (data for Scotland is in financial years but is shown this way for consistency with other countries).

Since 2006, annual prescribing spend per person has decreased in all four countries of the UK. However there is significant variation within nations.

In Scotland, prescribing spending per head has increased by 3 per cent in real terms between 2012 and 2013, from £171 to £176.

England has the lowest prescribing spend per person, at £142 in 2013.

The data has been adjusted to real terms using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator from HM Treasury.

About the series

This chart is part of a wider series: The NHS in numbers, which aims to provide key facts and figures on the performance and funding of the NHS in England, plus the other home nations where comparable data is available. Charts in this series will be updated on an annual basis. Find out more about the update schedule, as well as the data sources used.

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About us

The Nuffield Trust is an independent health charity. We aim to improve the quality of health care in the UK by providing evidence-based research and policy analysis and informing and generating debate.